Keshet is launching two Building Blocks of Belonging Learning Series this fall tailored to professionals and educators in the Jewish community seeking to deepen their work for LGBTQ+ belonging. Taken as a series, these offerings will help you expand your toolbox and take your work for belonging to the next level.
Building Blocks of Belonging: A Keshet Learning Series for Jewish Day Schools and Supplemental Schools is a no cost three-part online learning series designed for Jewish school staff and educators who want to strengthen LGBTQ+ inclusion while building schools where all students can experience belonging.
Across three monthly sessions, we will move from the foundational building blocks of an affirming school, to building community buy in, to cultivating hope and resilience for the work ahead. Register for this series here!
November 11, 4:30–6:00 PM ET / 1:30–3:00 PM PT
What makes a school truly LGBTQ+ affirming? We’ll lay the groundwork by exploring the core ingredients of affirming schools from curriculum and teaching practices to policies and school culture. When we make space for all of our students, protect student wellbeing, and cultivate cultures of respect, our schools become stronger for everyone.
December 16, 4:30–6:00 PM ET / 1:30–3:00 PM PT
Creating meaningful change takes more than good intentions. Together, we’ll examine the different stakeholders and beneficiaries of LGBTQ+ affirming schools and consider strategies for bringing people into the work. We’ll explore common pitfalls, practice navigating challenges, and develop tools for sustaining momentum.
January 20, 4:30–6:00 PM ET / 1:30–3:00 PM PT
As we enter a new secular year, our final session will turn toward hope. Conversations about LGBTQ+ student wellbeing can too often center struggle and pain. While acknowledging the challenges facing our communities, we’ll instead explore sources of resilience, grounding our approach in the strengths, optimism, and deep capacity for joy found across LGBTQ+ and Jewish traditions.
Building Blocks of Belonging is a three-part online series created for Bay Area Jewish educators and clergy who are committed to creating spaces of LGBTQ+ belonging in their organizations. The Bay Area has been a leader in inclusion and belonging efforts, but we know there is always more work to do. This series will build upon that strong foundation, ensuring our communities are places where LGBTQ+ Jews can thrive. Register for this series here!
Wednesday, November 4, 10am PT
There are many ways to build LGBTQ+ affirming organizations! This session we will dive into three main organizational areas. We will discuss programming and curriculum: what we do. We will examine organizational and programmatic policy: how we say we do it. We will explore and brainstorm how to build a culture of belonging: the environment we create.
There will be opportunities for participants to brainstorm LGBTQ+ affirming programming and lesson planning, and we will support each other in drafting our own statements of belonging and inclusion for the classroom and/or organization.
Wednesday, December 2, 10am PT
We are living in uncertain times that can feel scary for so many, but the Jewish community and LGBTQ+ community have long histories of resilience. We can use the wisdom from the past to help us navigate this moment while we work for a better future. As Educators and Clergy we have the opportunity to impart these critical lessons.
In this session we will look at texts that speak to strengthening a hope practice through the burnout so many of us are feeling. We will learn from pivotal moments of resilience in Jewish and LGBTQ+ history. We will brainstorm ways we can strengthen our hope and resilience to sustain us in the important work we get to do everyday.
Wednesday, January 6, 10am PT
Creating spaces where all people feel celebrated is holy and just work. Still, the path to creating spaces of belonging can sometimes be a bumpy one. In this session we will go through some of the most common types of pushback organizations and educators face and bust common misconceptions about creating spaces that affirm the LGBTQ+ community. We will learn tools to effectively navigate this type of pushback from stakeholders and practice having these difficult conversations.
Because this work is ongoing, this session will conclude with a look at how to continue mobilizing your community and building spaces where all people can feel seen, valued, and thrive!
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